by Run Diva
After a 14 hour day at Magic Kingdom, my 4am alarm came very quickly. Since the 5k doesn’t start until 6am, we actually got to “sleep in” the first day which was nice. The weather was a bit chilly so I’m glad I packed my Nike waffle zip up. We hoped on the bus about 4:20am which was perfect because the bus line at Pop Century wasn’t too crazy just yet. When we arrived, the Epcot parking lot was so full of smiles, music, flashing lights, and so much excitement. In fact, the DJ was blasting a (new to me) song called “Verge” by Owl City that I immediately downloaded and am obsessed with.
As we sat in our corral, I looked around and thought about how long I’ve wished to be right in that exact spot. The journey that took me to get here wasn’t easy and had me in tears after quite a few runs but that all didn’t matter now, I was actually running my dream race. After having my daughter, Emma, it felt like my body would never go back to the way it was. Running often felt excruciating physically and mentally. I often looked to social media to my favorite runners to see how they were training and what they were doing. Looking to people who inspire you for the right reasons can sometimes give you that little boost to get out the door. Over the last year and a half, I worked on my goal of losing 30 lbs from baby weight and as I left for my trip, I hit my goal. Not as quickly as I had “planned” but hey, that’s life sometimes.
My cousin and I sat down in the corral about 5am which was perfect because we ended up being towards the front and away from the crowds. Since we don’t live in the same state, it was nice to have an hour to sit and talk before we started. Our strategy for this race was to walk the 5k, run/walk the 10k and half, and then for the full, just do our best!
The race started and we spent the first mile behind the Epcot parking lots heading into World Showcase. Before this trip, I had planned on doing EVERY character stop but once I saw that the lines were quite a bit longer (think 3 times) than Disneyland, we took a pass. We were so exhausted this first day that we wanted to finish and go to bed!
Before the mile 1 marker, they did have Chip and Dale while “Rescue Rangers” was blasting, which of course made me a bit sentimental! All the 90’s kids I’m sure can appreciate that one! So taking it slow and steady for the rest of the way, we got to see Epcot with all of the lights on which was breath taking. I love all RunDisney 5k’s because they are so family orientated and just a fun, relaxed vibe.
Passing the entrance of Epcot, we go our medals and jumped back on the buses to go home to change.
My hip flexors were giving me some trouble so I was definitely anxious to get home and ice them before heading out to brunch at the Kona Cafe – and boy oh boy was that worth every calorie! Tonga toast with a french press pot of Kona Coffee was the PERFECT way to spend our morning after the race.
That was my experience with the Disney World 5K for the Disney World Marathon weekend. What was yours? And if you haven’t ran it yet, when are you planning to? Feel free to tell us all about your runDisney experiences below!
